A long forgotten hope
by artistofthemind
Summary: Tessa Gray, an orphan now living on the streets of London, is starving and almost dead when she meets a stranger that no one else of London seems to be able to see. He takes her to the Institute and a wonderful new life. ON HOLD
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Tessa has a different power btw. I'm not telling you what it is. She also has a different past. You'll find it all out as the story goes along. **

**Disclaimer: I sadly don't own TID, Cassandra Clare does. I only own my plot line. and possibly a few of the characters.**

**Prologue **

Our story begins in the country in a simple farmer's home. His first child has just been born. Now as you know almost every human child is born with blue eyes. The eyes may or may not change color as the child grows up. Our child does not have blue or brown or green or hazel eyes or any color eyes ever seen before. Our child has rainbow eyes. As the young mother held her little girl, her first born, close, she opened her tiny eyes. They were not a color the parents had seen before. In fact they didn't even have a specific color. Her eyes were rainbows that were constantly shifting and shimmering. Even as her mother and father absorbed this fact she spoke her first words, "You are not my father."

**Chapter One: Now**

**Tessa's POV **

Tessa sat on the curb begging, hoping that a friendly face would come by and give her a few coins or maybe a dollar or two, if she was lucky. She was starving and dying of thirst. Her body abused and used, no one seemed to care though. They all just walked past her, ignoring her obvious bruises and malnutrition. Then she saw him walking by further down the street. He moved the smoke; twisting, winding his way down the street towards her. It was odd she thought, he was so handsome, but there were no girls looking at him and giggling. No husbands jealous because his wife was staring at some pretty-boy stranger. In fact there was no one looking at him at all. The people of New York couldn't see him she realized as she watched him come closer. Well there's only one way to solve this mystery, she thought and prepared herself to tug his sleeve.

**Will's POV**

As Will walked down 5th avenue he got the weird feeling that he was being watched. But since he was using a glamour he put it down to a lingering since from the club and all the eyes that were on him there. Today he was hurrying back to the Institute because it was Jem's birthday. Normally he wouldn't have bothered, but Jem was his extremely patient parabatai, so Will felt obligated to be there for him. Geez and I was just about to catch that demon girl that was eyeing me, Will though annoyed. Then he looked up because the sense of someone watching him wouldn't go away. There WAS someone watching him, a girl. A mundie girl was watching him approach her. Well if she's smart she won't do anything, Will thought, she probably just thinks she's hallucinating.

**3rd person POV**

She watched the boy get closer and was about to lose her nerve when he walked by. She reached out and grabbed his wrist. He took another step only to be yanked back by her firm grip on his wrist. He whirled and immediately pulled out a knife and glowered at her. She just had to go and grab his wrist, Will thought angrily. She shrank back, but kept her grip on his wrist. Maybe not such a good idea, she thought, now I'm going to die. He tried to tug his hand out of her grip, but she just gripped harder. He frowned, he was a master of getting away from people's grips and a mere mundie shouldn't be able to hold him. Tessa prayed to god that he wouldn't put his knife to use. He didn't he just pulled harder, but still couldn't get his wrist out of her grip. Damn this girl has a strong grip he thought and gave up trying to pull his wrist free. Tessa finally got the courage to speak up

"A-a-a-a d-d-dollar for the p-p-p-poor." she stuttered absolutely terrified.

"Is that all?" Will asked but not unkindly; the poor girl was scared stiff. Not so stupid after all he thought.

"Um..." Tessa didn't know how to respond, his eyes, a bright blue, had softened and she was sure he would give her almost anything she asked for. Damn, thought Will, she's gone and made me soft.

"Can you please let go of my wrist." the boy's voice startled her out of her reverie.

"Sorry!" she gasped and sprang back. At least he isn't holding the knife threateningly any more she thought.

Will looked at this starving girl for a moment before he made up his mind, "Common we're going to get you somewhere safe." He sheathed his knife and grabbed her wrist, pulling her after him. She didn't stumble like he thought she would, instead she came up beside him, pulled her wrist free and took his hand. Will was shocked, first he hadn't been able to break out of her grip and now she had broken his; and furthermore had held his hand. He didn't try to pull his hand away though, it was obvious this small girl needed to hold his hand, thought the reason escaped him.

**TPOV**

As they walked down the street Tessa felt herself slowly getting weaker and weaker. Damn, she thought, I didn't think I was so weak right now. She just gripped his hand tighter and slowed down just a smidgen. Tessa desperately hoped that this strange boy wouldn't notice her slowing down or becoming weaker. As it turned out he noticed both.

"Are you okay?" he inquired.

"Fine." Tessa gritted her teeth and picked up the pace, but try as she might she just wasn't strong enough to keep up for long. She was slowly losing consciousness and the world was becoming black around the edges. She was vaguely that they had stopped on the side of the sidewalk and the boy was peering down at her in concern. His mouth was moving, but Tessa wasn't registering any sound.

"Help me. They're all gone." was the last thing she said before she fainted.

**WPOV**

Will noticed that the girl beside him had slowed down and was gripping his hand more tightly, as if she was trying to draw strength from it. He saw her noticing that he noticed and she sped up, only to slow back down. He pulled her over to the side, concerned when she didn't do anything. Nothing at all. He leaned over looking down at her concerned, her eyes were starting to get filmy and were changing color. That's weird he thought, people's eyes don't change color.

"Hey are you alright? Come on tell me something. Anything. Speak to me." he encouraged, "You can stay awake." she just looked at him sadly and spoke.

"Help me. They're all gone." The words struck a chord in him and shocked as he was he didn't notice her faint until she collapsed on top of him. He swung her up in his arms bridal style and carried her back to the Institute. The girl was alarmingly light for her size, and looked as though she would need some medical help; mentally as well as physically.

**A/N Okay so how was it? I'll try and update ASAP. Please Read and Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So i'm updating a lot quicker than I expected because I got really bored and it's really hot out so I don't wanna go sit outside and climb trees and ride my unicycle. I know, I know I can ride a UNICYCLE. I mean how many people can do that? I realized that I said Will has blue eyes in chapter one, but his eyes are actually violet, like in TID (cassy owns it)So I really don't care whether or not you like my story b/c I like it and I enjoy writing it. SO ENJOY!**

**Chapter 2: We're helping you**

**TPOV**

Tessa came to her senses slowly. First she was aware of the bed she was on. It was soft and fluffy; it felt like she was laying on a cloud. The pillow was just as comfortable and the blanket was the warmest, softest, thickest blanket she had ever touched, much less been allowed to use. The next thing that Tessa noticed was the smells. They were overwhelming and many. First she could smell books; musty, old, and oddly loved. That's weird thought Tessa, how does a book smell loved? The next smell was burnt sugar. Tessa had no idea why on earth a cloud bed would smell like burnt sugar, but life has many strange things so Tessa let it slide by. She could also smell soup; delicious, warm, thick, homemade chicken noodle soup. Again, thought Tessa, I'm smelling adjectives. But since she wasn't really awake Tessa didn't linger on it. She was starting to hear noises, people talking. About her, Tessa realized with a start.

"... think she'll ever wake up?"

"Oh calm down Jem, it's only been a couple of hours since I brought her here. Go celebrate your birthday like you should be." it was the voice of the boy who brought her here, Tessa realized.

"Are you sure you know what to do if she wakes up while I'm not here?" the other boy sounded worried. That's cute, Tessa thought, someone's worried for me for the first time.

"I'll be fine. Just go downstairs." street-boy, as Tessa dubbed him, sounded exasperated.

"Alright, alright. No need to get your knickers in a twist." the burnt sugar boy left. Tessa knew that he smelled like that because the source of the smell burnt sugar left with him. Tessa didn't worry about that too much because now she was struggling with opening her eyes. Except her body seemed determined that she go back to sleep. But Tessa didn't want to sleep; she wanted to wake up and thank her rescuer and read the books that she could smell. She was sure they were like classics, she didn't know why she was sure, but she just was. Wake up Tessa, she commanded herself, but it seemed the more she struggled to stay awake the more her body tried to pull her under.

"Just relax." a voice recommended. Whaaat? Tessa was confused, but did as she was told. And as she relaxed her eyes started to flutter open. The boy's face came slowly into view. His eyes first, then nose, mouth, and finally she could see his whole face. He was standing over her, looking down with concern in his eyes.

"Don't move." he said quickly when she clenched her stomach muscles, preparing to sit up.

"Why…...not?" it was hard for Tessa to speak, which was unusual.

"You're weak from hunger and beatings." On the last word his eyes flashed murderously, but immediately faded back to normal so quickly if Tessa hadn't been paying attention she would have missed it. "Stay right here and don't move. I need to get Jem. He'll be able to help or at least tell me what to do." and he ran out.

5 minutes later he came back with Jem and a box that had an odd symbol on it. Weirdly Tessa knew it meant _to heal_. She also knew it had power if drawn on a Nephilim's skin with something called a stele. That's weird how did I know that, Tessa thought.

"How did you know what?" Whoops I said that outloud, Tessa thought.

"That the symbol, although I guess rune would be the right name, meant _to heal_." When Tessa said it a rush of cold, but not unpleasant, air rushed through the room.

"That was weird." Street-boy said.

"Will have you even introduced us?" the boy, Jem I guess, said.

"Wha- oh I'm William, but you can call me Will. And this is James."

"Call me Jem, everyone does. Pleased to meet you Miss…" The boy, Jem, let the sentence hang in the air.

"OH! Tessa Gray. Just call me Tessa though please."

"Of course. Now Will said that you had some terrible bruises and cuts? Why don't we take a look at those." Jem smiled good-naturedly at her before turning to Will, who in turn looked at him and nodded once. Then he walked over to Tessa being careful to not make a sudden movement because she looked easily scared right now (**A/N: I have switched to a fairly omniscient PoV btw)**. And she was, for a good reason. The past years she had spent on the streets had been full of rapings, beatings, muggings, and even kidnappings a few times. Now Tessa was afraid of strangers, terrified, petrified even. And Will slowly approaching her while she lay on what she assumed was his bed in his room. Tessa wasn't sure how she was still breathing, it was probably because the two boys really did look like they wanted to help her. So Tessa keep still and quiet as best she could, which was still as a board and quiet as a mouse.

She looked terrified poor thing, thought Will. And she's so beautiful; it's a shame that anyone could harm anyone so beautif- wait what? Will had confused himself. Sure she was beautiful with her long, dark, dark brown hair and grey-blue eyes. But her eyes weren't just beautiful, they scared him because madness and terror lurked in their depths; reminding him of his own past. She was going insane, anyone with half a brain could see that. I'm just going to have to be nice I guess, Will thought; as much as it pains me, but I know if I snap at her, she will break.

When Will touched Tessa to help her sit up she nearly jumped out of her own skin with fright. But his touch was gentle and oddly calming, so Tessa slowly began to relax and let him help her sit up on the edge of the bed. With the blankets off her, Tessa felt less safe, but Will didn't let go of her once she was sitting. Nope Will sat behind her and put her in his lap and helped her sit up. Tessa was thankful for the security, warmth, and support he was providing her and she slowly began to relax. Until she saw Jem walking towards the bed with the box. She tensed up.

Oh dear, thought Will, she thinks we are going to hurt her. He looked Jem in the eye and conveyed what was wrong. Jem barely nodded his understanding and sat in a chair right by the bed and spoke with his musical voice that could charm anyone.

"Tessa we won't hurt you. I promise. But we do need to fix your wounds so that you don't become ill okay? So just calm down and this will be over soon. Close your eyes if you can't handle it okay? Just calm down. We are trying to help you. Please Tessa trust us." Jem kept murmuring such calming nonsense and he began to carefully examine the exposed wounds. He cleaned the cuts and rubbed his special salve into the bruises. Then he bandaged everything and by then Tessa had fallen asleep in Will's lap under Jem's minstrations.

"When she wakes up, or right now, you should give her your special massage. All of her muscles are tight as iron even when she's relaxed." Jem whispered.

"Alright. I'll wait until she wakes up. I'm just going to keep in here if that's alright." Will whispered back.

"Probably for the best." Jem whispered and left. After Jem was gone Will carefully stood and holding Tessa in one arm turned back the blankets. He set her down in the bed and laid himself down on the floor with the spare blankets and pillows.

**A/N: WWWWWOOOOOOOWWWWWW! that was long. Like really really really long. But that's alright right? Because you know we all love a good story. Please review and tell me: can you ride a unicycle or juggle? I'm curious. Updating soon! I'm definitely posting something tomorrow. Might just not be part of the story because I'm really busy. Btw I already have the whole story planned out. Everything. Every last detail. Okay not quite. Keep tuned in for updates!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: A few things here. I'm really really really really sorry for not updating but i went backpacking and yada yada so long story short this is the first time I've have access to my computer and internet at the same time and I haven't felt really inspired. Secondly I've had questions about Tessa's eyes. Well you see I am going to explain that, but long story short I changed Tessa's power and her eyes are part of her new power so they get all ballistic rainbowy when she uses her power. Thirdly someone told me I was lacking detail in the first chapter and I am aware of that and the details will get filled in as the story goes, you'll see. Fourth thank you to all my readers, viewers, reviewers, and everyone! I love you all! and without further ado the story (that cassy sadly owns the characters and ideas and you get it i only own the plot line).**

Chapter 3: Are you hungry?

When Will woke up in the morning his side was warm, unusually warm and it felt like there was a weight on his chest. He looked down and saw that at some point in the night Tessa had crawled down beside him and was sleeping curled up against him with her head on his chest and his arm was wrapped around her side. He could feel all of her bones through her clothes. Her ribs and hip bones were the most prominent and he could feel her cheek bones digging slightly into his chest. It wasn't uncomfortable though, he rather liked the feeling he was getting. That she trusted him enough to come sleep next to him, even if she did come down unconsciously. He felt her shifting in his arms, starting to wake up. He squeezed her arm gently to reassure her. Or at least he thought it was reassuring, but he forgot she had been abused.

As Tessa slowly came to she was unusually warm and comfortable. The strangest thing was the steady thump-thump of someone's heart right under her head. She felt someone gently squeeze her shoulder. She opened her eyes and promptly sat up and screamed. Tessa really didn't mean to scream and no one liked it when she screamed in the morning, so she cowered; her arms above her head to ward off blows. Blows that never came. Instead someone gathered her in their arms and gently rocked her back and forth muttering.

"Oh Tess, I didn't mean to scare you. Shhh it's alright. Calm down you're safe now." It was Will, Tessa realized. She was safe in the Institute or something like that. This made Tessa had cry. She was so overwhelmed by having woken up in a strange (but safe) place, sleeping next to a strange man (well boy really), and being unusually warm. Although the last one was probably just making her overjoyed. Despite this Tessa didn't try and get out of his arms; she didn't know why, but she just felt safe in his arms. Safe and warm and removed. Also special and cared for. It had been... never, Tessa realized, since she had felt special and cared for. That just made her cry harder.

Will had no idea what to do; he was holding a sobbing girl, trying to get her to stop crying by rubbing her back and murmuring to her. This usually worked, but it just made the girl, Tess he decided he would call her, cry harder. He thought about what her past must have been like. He imagined she grew up in an orphanage without parents and when she reached 16 she was kicked out. She only looked 15, and like an anorexic 15 year old at that. She had to be at least 17, if not 18. She had probably been 18 years without familial love or care. In fact he would go as far as to stay this was the first time someone had cared how she felt. Had cared that she was warm or comfortable or clean or healthy or full. Heck the first time someone had cared at all and he, Will, was practically a stranger to her. Suddenly he understood her tears and that just made him love her all the more (not that he realized he was in love).

Tessa was finally able to pull herself together and stopped crying. She just sat there, her head resting against Will's chest. They both just sat there in silence, Will holding Tessa and Tessa relaxing into Will. Then Tessa's stomach grumbled making Will laugh. His laugh seem to come from everywhere and his whole body was shaking as he laughed. Tessa climbed out of his lap and stood, looking down at her feet, her face a brilliant red. After a couple minutes Will stopped and looked at Tessa who to his surprise was gaping open mouthed at his books. Well he never took her as a reader, but then again he didn't know her, at all.

Tessa took the opportunity of Will being distracted laughing at her to look around the room. The first thing she notice where the bookshelves. They were floor to ceiling, polished mahogany and absolutely filled with books. The shelves I noticed barely let the blue of the walls to show. It was a pretty blue, a cross between royal blue and a blue close to Will's eyes. It was super pretty. Then she saw just exactly how many books he had and completely forgot about everything else. The shelves were as full as you could possibly get them AND there were book covering the floor space. Most of the books were the classics and then there were some of her favorite fantasy series and just favorite books. Looking around Tessa realized she had finally found someone who loved the same books as she did. Tessa looked at him and caught him looking at her with obvious amusement.

"So you like books huh?" he asked her.

"OF COURSE!" Tessa all but shouted. "And you have almost all of my favorites." she said the last part quietly and almost as if she hoped that Will wouldn't hear her, because if he did he would ask what her favorites were. And she really didn't want to share what her favorites were.

"What is your favorite book? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to…" Will trailed off hopeful to learn more about this strange girl he had met on the street.

"Uh.. well… uh… Ireallylike_Ataleoftwocities_." Tessa said really fast turning bright red.

"What was that? I'm sorry I didn't catch that." Will said gently. He had heard what she said, but just wanted to make sure he had heard right.

"I uh said um I really like _A Tale of Two Cities._" Tessa all but whispered looking down at her feet and then glanced up at Will shyly and was taken aback by what she saw. Will was smiling broadly, looking immensely pleased by this. And he was, he was really happy that someone else really liked _A Tale of Two Cities._

"So do I Tess. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Everyone like different sorts of books." Will reassured her. He didn't want Tessa to feel ashamed of liking a classic piece of literature. Especially not one that he really liked.

"Alright." Tessa seemed slightly more confident.

"Now we need to get you dressed." Will thought it was time he brought this up. Tessa immediately freaked out.

"No. No no no no. I don't need anything else from you. I'll just leave. I couldn't possibly ask for more." She started edging towards the door, intending to leave. Will however had different plans in mind for her. He didn't touch her. He didn't want to scare her even more. Instead he moved to stand in front of the door.

"Tessa it's no trouble at all. We haven't done anything for you. We didn't feed you, didn't clothe you. Heck we didn't even give you a bath. We just gave you a place to stay for the night." he tried to make her see sense. He knew however he got her to agree, he couldn't use force. Not at all. None. Zip. Zero. Zilch. That would just move them back to square 0. Even further back than that because right now and even when they first met, Tessa trusted him. If Will were to ever raise a hand in Tessa's direction she would become very, very afraid and not even gentle Jem would be able to help. Speaking of Jem, he knocked on the door that very minute. Just who I need, Will thought gladly. Tessa in the mean time was using the distraction at the door to hide in a corner among books to avoid whatever fate had in store for her.

"Jem! Can you go get Sophie and some clothes for Tessa?" Will's voice was thankful and cheerful at the sametime.

"Way ahead of you Will. I have come bearing both Sophie and clothes for our guest." Jem's musical voice floated to where Tessa was hiding. That just made her curl up into an even smaller ball. She didn't want to leave, but at the same time she didn't want to stay. She wanted familiar, but she also wanted Will to be with her. That was why she was hiding in the stacks of books in the corner.

"Will it seems as though your guest has disappeared." A girl's voice came to Tessa's ears and she assumed this was that Sophie girl. Tessa curled up even smaller. She did not want to see anyone but Will right now. She wanted to go back to sleep and sleep next to Will like she had done last night.

"I'll find her you guys just wait outside. She's probably overwhelmed right now." Will spoke in a softer tone so Tessa had to strain to hear him. She heard two people go back into the hall and heard the door close. Tessa had curled as small as possible at this point and was barely breathing. She did not want to be found. But she heard Will calling out softly.

"Tess I know you're hiding in the corner with my books. I don't want to come get you. okay? I want you to come out and come over here. I need you to help me help you. Please come here Tess." Will was pleading, Tessa could tell that. Will really did want to help her. He really did want her to trust him enough to come out on her own. He also wanted her to be comfortable with coming out. Tessa loved him for that and so she slowly uncurled and stood up, swaying slightly with a head rush that comes from standing up too fast. Will was sitting on the bed cross legged. He looked relieved that Tessa had decided to come out on her own.

She hesitantly walked over to where Will was sitting. Will just spread his arms, asking Tessa to come sit on his lap. Tessa did. She wasn't sure why, but she was trusting this scarred boy more and more. She felt safe on his lap, in his arms and she really did just want to be sitting there right now. Will knew that Tessa felt safe in his lap, that's why he wanted her there when he was talking to her about staying at the Institute. When Tessa had crawled into his arms and curled up against his body he began to talk in a low soothing voice.

"Tess I want you to stay at the Institute okay? I want you to stay here for a week before you decide whether or not to leave. I want you to put on some real clothes and get cleaned off. I want you to eat and heal." He stroked her hair as he talked and he could feel her shaking. From nerves, fright, or cold he wasn't sure. "Tess can you let Sophie help you get cleaned off and changed? I won't be there Tess. I want you to be able to do it yourself. Can you do that for me Tess?" he waited for her answer.

"Yes. I can Will. But can you be near by? Please Will." with that she clung to him more tightly, burying her face in his chest. She didn't want to deal with this Sophie person, but it was for Will and she would do anything for her gentle, understanding savoir. She felt him exhale a sigh of relief before he answered.

"Of course Tess. I'll stay right where I am. You will be in my bathroom. You can even wear one of my shirts if you want." He felt Tessa's shaking lessen as he spoke.

"Thank you Will." she spoke so softly he had to strain to hear it.

"Are you ready for Jem and Sophie to come in?" Will asked.

"If you don't move." he silently laughed at this.

"Sophie, Jem you can come in now." Tessa started slightly at his raised voice before relaxing back into his chest. When they came in Will gestured for them to be quiet.

"Hello Tessa. Are you feeling better." Jem sank into a crouch by the bed so that he was on eye level with Tessa. She turned around at the sound of his voice and peered at him in between Will's arms.

"Yes. Thank you Jem." she whispered.

"Tess this is Sophie. Sophie this is Tess." Will shifted Tessa slightly so she could see the other girl more clearly. Tessa saw the scar on the girl's face and felt better. This girl knew what abuse was, maybe not to the level she-Tessa- knew it. But a little was better than none.

"Hello Tessa." Sophie spoke quietly so as not to frighten the girl in Will's lap. She was surprised, Will never let anyone close to him. Much less let them sit in his lap and here he was with a strange girl in his lap. He was protecting her, she could see that. She saw that Will was in love with this damaged girl and that he would do anything for her.

"Tess do you think you can go get cleaned up?" Will asked her gently and he stroked her head tenderly. It was all Sophie could do to keep the shock off her face. Will was never gentle or nice or tender or any of that. He was loud, rude, arrogant, and cruel. This girl had changed him, although when she wasn't there she had a feeling he would be more like his old self. But probably still nicer than he had ever been. The longer Sophie looked at the girl, the more she too, wanted to help protect this fragile girl.

"Yes." Tessa spoke barely louder than a whisper but they all heard her. Sophie watched as Will helped her stand and looked her in the eye and whispered something so quiet she could not hear it.

As Will helped the shy girl in his lap stand he told her very quietly, "Sophie will understand what you have been through. Trust her for me okay?" Tessa had looked him in the eye as he said this and she nodded very slightly then followed the other into the bathroom. Will turned to Jem and spoke with anger in his voice. "I can't believe people could hurt her. She's so innocent and pure." Jem stared at his parabatai in surprise. Will never acted like this, never ever. Tessa had changed him and for the better. In less than 24 hours that girl had brought Will's walls down and had him acting kinder to everyone.

"That she is." Jem agreed.  
"She isn't human you know. Not completely." Will told him.

"Really?" Jem was surprised.

"I get a weird feeling when I'm near her. It's like a warlock crossed with a Shadowhunter. Really weird." Jem thought about this and then realized that he felt the same way around her.

"I noticed too." Jem felt compelled to say. Will only nodded looking towards the bathroom. The two boys sat in silence until Tessa came out.

_In the bathroom_

Sophie led Tessa into the bathroom and drew a bath knowing there was no way that this girl was going to be able to take a shower. When the bath was finished being drawn Sophie helped Tessa undress and get in. Tessa's skin was completely covered in bruises and scars and it was all Sophie could do not to gasp.

"They don't hurt any more you know. The pain just fades into the back." Tessa told her absently as she climbed into the warm bath. "It only hurts when they're new or when someone pushes them too hard."

"I'm sorry that you had to go through that." Sophie said quietly. She saw the girl in the bath nod. Sophie walked over and gently helped the other girl wash her hair and get herself scrubbed off. Once all of the dirt was off, and after draining and refilling the bath many times, and Tessa's hair was clean, Sophie helped her get dressed. Will, true to his word, had provided one of his shirts. It was just a plain gray t-shirt, but it made her blue-gray eyes more gray and gave her a more vulnerable look. The pants were an old pair Sophie's and had to belted a tightly as possible before they were no longer completely falling off although they still hung loosely on her hips. The clothes hung so loosely on her frame that it made her look even smaller and skinnier than before. Once she had finished getting dressed Sophie walked her out and talked at the same time.

"We should put something on all those bruises. I'm sure you don't want Will to see, so should I come back later? It's alright if you'd rather not, after all they are just bruises and will heal within the next week." Sophie spoke softly and hoped the girl would let Sophie help her.

"Alright." Tessa agreed softly because she could tell how much Sophie wanted to help. She didn't need to use her precious power to tell that. Sophie was very thankful and you could tell as she and Tessa walked back into the room that Sophie was very glad this scarred girl was trusting her. When Tessa saw Will she ran towards him and hugged him; something she had never done before in her life. She didn't know why she did, but Tessa was just very glad to be back with Will. Will just swung her up in his arms, surprised by how light she was. Will had been expecting Tessa to come running back to him and stood up as the girls walked out of the bathroom. For some reason Sophie looked like she had won the lottery and Will figured he would be seeing her again tonight. He didn't linger on this too long when Tessa had come flying towards him. He scooped her up because he knew she wanted to feel safe at that moment. She looked much prettier cleaned off. Her skin was like porcelain and her hair hung down in damp, brown waves. Her bruises were clearly visible and that angered Will, but he brushed it off because she was safe now. The clothes looked ridiculous on her, but they would have to do for now. Will did like his shirt on her though, it brought out the gray in her eyes.

Jem watched their moment with jealousy. He liked Tessa, she was very pretty, but broken. Jem was also broken, but when he saw how much Tessa liked Will and how much Will liked her back he knew he would never have a future with her. She needed Will to much. Jem also didn't want Tessa to get hurt too much when he died, for he would die one day and no one could do anything about it.

When Will set her down, Tessa looked at Jem. But she wasn't just looking at him, she was staring at him. Then as he looked in her eyes they flashed and started to change. He couldn't look away and he could feel Sophie move next to him and look at Tessa too. Even Will had shifted away from Tessa and was looking in her eyes. As they watched her eyes they went from the stormy blue-gray to a rainbow color. Will realized with a start, that this had happened before on street; just before she had fainted, Tessa's eyes had changed color. And as quickly as it came, the rainbow was gone and Tessa's eyes were back to normal. Normal except now they held sadness far beyond her age for she had seen Jem's past. Jem's terrible past and she felt for him.

Jem was surprised by the look in her eyes as soon as they faded back to normal. They held sadness, but also an understanding. It was as if she had seen his past inside his soul; seen his past and felt for him. He realized she could probably understand his past the best because her past had been the closest.

Tessa surprised herself by giving Jem a hug. Everyone was surprised as Tessa went over and hugged Jem so tightly it was as if she was trying to pull his broken pieces back together. Jem froze for a moment before gently hugging her back and whispering, "What's in the past is in the past. There is nothing you or I or anyone can do to change it." Tessa nodded pulled back and walked over to Will. He just held her close as if he would never let her go.

"Are you hungry Tess?" Will asked as Tessa's stomach grumbled once again. She blushed and looked down at her toes before nodding. They all walked down to the kitchen.

**A/N: and how was the third chapter? in the next chapter Tessa's power gets explained. I promise. I just needed a reason to keep you reading, yes? so stay tuned and check out my other story. It's a clace story called reconnecting or something like that. I know it's awful that I don't know that name of my own story. Review please and thank you! Also sorry for any and all spelling/gramatical mistakes and possible lack of flow.**


	4. Not an update (sorry)

**So I have a sprained wrist in circus camp and I can't type very well, at all, and so I'm really sorry about the delay, but I'll have the update up as soon as possible. Again I'm really sorry, but there isn't much you can do when you are injured.**

**Thanks for understanding (or even not understanding and dealing with it anyway)**

**Artistofthemind**


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry about the late update, but my wrist is finally better and I can finally do things again! YA! **

**So a few things, people have been telling me that Will and Tessa's relationship is moving too fast, but you'll see that it isn't really. While they both are developing feelings, nothing romantic is going to happen yet. I promise the relationship won't be so easy.**

Chapter 4: Say what?!

As the four of them sat in the kitchen eating breakfast, Will, Jem, and Sophie wondered when Tessa would tell them about her mysterious eyes. Tessa was aware of their curiosity and she understood it. She too, had wondered for the longest time why she could see into people's past on occasion. Then she had met an old man on street who had explained everything to her and then died during the night. He had claimed that he was her grandpa and told her about her power. He told her nothing about her past, he had said it wasn't his place to tell her. He said she find past or her past would find her and there was nothing either of them could do about it. Tessa recalled how calm he was as he explained that she was a phenomenon, something that would never be created again no matter how hard people tried. He told her to be careful who to trust and to trust her eyes and her instincts because they would always be right. Tessa took a sip of tea to steady herself before looking up and speaking.

"I'm sure you're all wondering about my eyes by now." she waited for them all to nod affirmative before continuing, "you might as well get comfortable because there's a lot to tell."

"Why don't we go to the sitting room or library then?" Jem suggested.

"Anywhere but the library please." Sophie groaned, "we won't get anything done in the library because Will will just read us books the whole time."

"What's wrong with reading?" Will demanded.

"Nothing, nothing. Let's go to the sitting room." Jem replied, barely holding in his laughter. He stood up and led the group out of the kitchen. Tessa stopped to drain her tea before running to catch up.

When they got to the sitting room, Sophie and Jem ended up on the loveseat and Will and Tessa sat on the couch. The room had a fire place with a fire burning merrily in it. There was a couch and a loveseat in front of the fire with a small coffee table. There were a few other chairs in the room, but nothing else. The room was obviously not used all that much.

"Alright, I don't know much about my power myself, but I'll tell you everything that I know." Tessa began in a soft voice so the others had to lean in to hear her. "About 2 years ago, when I first started living on streets, an old man found me hiding behind a dumpster in an alleyway by an abandoned building. He coaxed me out of the shadows and gave warms clothes and food. He had brought a picnic with him and told me I could eat whatever I wanted. I ate as much as I could and the kind old man bundled up the rest and gave it to me. He did not speak one word or eat on bite while I sat and ate. After I was done he sat us both down in the shadows of the building and began to talk to me. He told me his name was Aloysius Starkweather." Tessa trailed off as everyone else in the room inhaled sharply at his name.

"So THAT'S where the mad old man went!" Will exclaimed. "He is still alive, right Tess?" he looked hopeful.

"Actually no, he died that night in his sleep. Just sort of slipped away." Tessa looked down at her hands as she spoke, a tear slipping out that she quickly wiped away before looking up. "We had been taking turns on watch all night because it was a shady end of town. It was my turn on watch and it was almost dawn. Gran- I mean Mr. Starkweather just slowly stopped breathing and sort of drifted away."

"Wow. I'm sorry Tessa." It was Jem and he truly did sound sorry.

"It's alright anyway I thought we were here so that I could explain my eyes." Tessa was getting a little more confident, the three other people noticed, and they weren't sure why, but regardless they were still happy.

"Yes please continue Tessa." Sophie encouraged her. Tessa just nodded and closed her eyes, thinking about how to go about telling this. She decided to tell them about her origin first and then explain her powers.

"First thing you should know is about my blood. I never truly believed Mr. Starkweather when he told me, but now I do. He told me that I am a mix of bloods that will never be recreated. Ever. First thing you need to know is that Aloysius Starkweather was my grandfather." Tessa ignored there astonished stares and continued. "The other thing you should know is that what I am is technically impossible. My mother was a warlock born from a demon woman by my grandfather. He did IT on accident and when my mother was dropped off on the steps of his home with a note, he sent her away to grow up as a human. I am the daughter of a warlock and a fairy. I should never have been able to been born." Tessa was trying to hold back tears as she thought about what had happened to her mother, not yet a month ago. She failed miserably and only looked in Will's eyes with sorrow before fainting into his lap. Will caught her surprised and stretched her the length of the couch and the three Shadowhunters watched as Tessa's body went stiff and tears began to roll down her cheeks. Then the oddest thing happened, Tessa smiled maniacally and started to laugh, all trace of tears gone.

Tessa was experiencing a flashback of her mother's death.

_As Tessa sat huddled on a street corner a woman in an old-fashioned dress came up to her and knelt before her._

"_Theresa is that you?" she spoke in such a tone that it did not leave any doubt in Tessa's mind as to who she was. It was her mother. Tessa was so shocked she could only nod in response._

"_Good. Thank the Lord I found you. Follow me, you must hurry." with that her mother had Tessa on her feet and was hurriedly pulling her through the crowd to an alleyway. Tessa's mother looked all around her before pulling Tessa in the alleyway after her. _

"_Tessa there are very, very bad people coming after you. They want your power for their own. You must never let them get their hand on you. Use your power to destroy them like I know you can. They are coming. Stay safe. I will protect you the best I can." with that said her mother seemed to be waiting for Tessa to say something back._

"_Alright, but why must I destroy them? Can't I just stall them long enough to get away?" Tessa hated hurting people, no matter how bad they were. Her mother only shook her head sadly._

"_Tessa if you show mercy then they will destroy you. No mercy must be shown. Be strong. I know you can do it." Tessa's mother seemed to hear something then because she spun around, sparks dancing on her fingertips. "Come out! I know you're there Axel!" she had called to the darkness. A man stepped out laughing._

"_I finally found you and your miserable whelp, Elizabeth. You can't run this time." as the man spoke clockwork creatures covered the entrance to the alleyway blocking them in. More men, human this time, appeared on either side of the man Tessa assumed was Axel._

"_I will kill you before I die at least." Tessa's mother, Elizabeth, spoke with such confidence that Tessa didn't doubt her. Then bright orange flames seemed to come from Elizabeth's fingers and shoot towards Axel. He waved a hand and they went to the side, killing most of the men surrounding him instantly._

"_Oh common you can do better than that." he taunted. Tessa watched in horror as her mother shot spell after spell at Axel, only to have them deflected to the side killing more. By now Tessa's mother was barely able to stand. She still stood proudly, though, and glared haughtily at Axel. Then she launched herself at him. Axel seemed as surprised by this as Tessa. She heard a scream that seemed to come from her own mouth, but Tessa wasn't sure. She saw blood spurt everywhere as Tessa watched her mother be torn apart by clockwork creatures that came out of nowhere to defend Axel. Some of the blood landed on Tessa's face, but she was too sad, too mad to care. Tessa had been sobbing as she watched her mother fight and die, but now, now Tessa stood there as power welled up inside of her. She glared at Axel and used her power to reach inside of him and pull out the deepest darkest memory she could find. Then, although she wasn't sure how, Tessa locked Axel in a never ending loop of the memory. As she watched him collapse she began to laugh in such a way she had never laughed before. She felt powerful and as though she could rule the world. With her newfound power she would be unstoppable. And as quickly as the power came, it left, leaving Tessa thoroughly pleased and exhausted. She staggered away only to collapse unconscious a few alleyways down._

Tessa woke up from her flashback to see three disturbed faces staring down at her. She shrieked and fell off the couch before gaining her composure and scrambling back into sitting on the couch. Jem was the first to speak.

"Are you alright Tessa?" he seemed hesitant.

"Yes." Tessa laughed shakily, "sorry for whatever you saw. My mom died about a month ago and when I started to talk about her well…" Tessa trailed off, but they seemed to understand as Sophie expressed.

"We understand. Would be too much trouble to ask you to continue?" the girl seemed worried for Tessa's mental health.

"No, no it's fine. So you know that I'm part human, angel, demon, and fairy." Tessa looked around for confirmation before continuing. "So when my eyes change colors like you saw, that means I'm 'reading' you. I'm looking at you soul to see what has impressed you the most that would help me in a situation or that would help me understand you better. I 'read' Will before I fainted on the street and saw he has had a past similar to mine. This gave me the words to say that would impact him the most, thus better securing his help. I read Jem because I was just curious about his silver hair and eyes. (**A/N: I forgot to mention that it's Silver Jem in this story**). And I saw he too had a past similar to mine in some ways. That was why I hugged you." She directed the last part to Jem. He nodded in acknowledgement looking thoughtful. He knew all of Will's past and he didn't see anything in it that related to his own, except that they were both orphans. This just made him want to know about Tessa's past even more, but he turned his attention back to the conversation on hand.

"Why haven't you 'read' me yet?" Sophie asked, truly curious.

"I haven't needed to or wanted to. I don't really like reading people because sometimes I see things that are too personal." Tessa admitted shrugging.  
"Well if you ever need to or want to, feel free. I don't mind." Sophie told her, she was curious as to what Tessa would see.

"Did your power help you survive for so long on the streets?" Will asked.

"Yes, I can use it to defend myself too. I can see something destructive and drive people insane or kill them by locking them in a loop of the scene. Or by reminding them of it and using my power to bring to the surface of their mind." Tessa told him with a glint in her eyes.

"Really?!" Will seemed intrigued, "Can you show me sometime?"

"I can show you right here, right now." Tessa said the glint growing bigger in her eyes.

"Please!" Will begged.

"Alright, Sophie would you mind if I used you? I won't hurt you, instead I'll use a happy memory, although you'll probably feel the negative emotions a bit more than normal." Sophie looked apprehensive, but nodded knowing that Will and Jem would help her if something bad started to happen. Tessa closed her eyes focusing before snapping them open. They were already glowing a bright rainbow color. She stared at Sophie and immediately Sophie remembered her Ascension. It had been the happiest day of her life, but also the day she had been the most nervous. The memory started off normal, she dressed gear walked to the meeting with Gideon. She felt happier, more happy than she thought she had. Then the anxiety and nervousness began, just like before Gideon noticed and comforted her. Or at least he tried. The nerves and anxiety just kept growing. She got more and more nervous. Now she didn't feel happy at all when Gideon rubbed her arm again, she snapped. She yelled at and pushed him away. She didn't want to and she hoped that the tears streaming down her cheeks told him so. He seemed to understand exactly how she felt because he stopped pestering her and instead walked a pace behind her so that he wasn't gone, but he also wasn't right next to her. Sophie tried to stretch out her hand, but her body didn't want to cooperate. She ground her teeth in frustration, this wasn't her memory! She wanted out! But not matter how hard Sophie fought, she was stuck in the memory that wasn't really hers. Then her eyes snapped open to see Tessa's face streaked with tears and Jem's concerned face. The only face missing was Will's and then she realized she was sitting down. Sophie sat up and saw Will's face; it destroyed her. He looked horrified by what he had insisted Tessa show them. Little did Sophie know that he wasn't horrified by what he had insisted, but rather what he did to stop it.

"I'm soo-o-o-rry for that Sophie." a heartbroken Tessa launched herself at a surprised Sophie, "I didn't mean to hurt you or ruin you memory." Tessa was sobbing into Sophie's shoulder as Sophie rubbed consoling circles on her back.  
"It's alright you stopped." Sophie crooned softly. At that Tessa just cried harder. When she had trapped Sophie in the memory, the rush of malicious power came back and she started to alter the memory and pull out the bad parts. Tessa didn't want to, so she tried to stop. She felt the crazy grin come on to her face and Tessa began to cry. It was the strangest mix of expressions, a malicious grin with heartbroken eyes and tears running down her face. Will seemed to get that she wanted to stop but couldn't because he came over and very carefully grabbed her face in one hand and used the other hand to catch her wrists. He seemed to know that this would cause Tessa to freak out and snap her concentration. Unfortunately for both of them it only caused Tessa to knock Sophie out by retracting the memory very quickly and turn her focus on Will instead. Jem caught Sophie and laid her down on the loveseat; he ignored the two people standing behind him until he heard a sharp smack and a small shriek. He started to turn when Sophie began to wake up and he immediately focused his attentions on her. Tessa had pulled Will's worst memory out without meaning too. She had been pulling him in when he smacked her the cheek. Tessa gave a small shriek and they both froze horrified and heartbroken. Tessa still crying turned around and immediately rushed to Sophie's side when she heard stirring. Will on the other hand sunk on the couch horrified by what had happened. He really hadn't meant to slap her, it was a self defense instinct from the times when he used to live in the relentless nightmare of his past. He knew that she was the one bringing the memories back and had reacted without thinking about the consequences. Now Tessa was probably terrified of him. It just broke his heart as much as he willed it not too. He needed to fix the situation and fast. Will looked up ready to talk to Tessa when he met the warm brown eyes of Sophie. She looked sympathetic and worried. _Help me_, she mouthed gesturing towards the sobbing Tessa. He hesitantly came up to the two girls and laid a careful, gentle hand on Tessa's shoulder. She stiffened and clung to Sophie even tighter. Will bit back a sob of his own at this. It was ruined. All ruined and there would be no fixing it this time. No second chances. But Will didn't remove his hand instead he sat carefully down next to Sophie and gently stroked Tessa's back. Sophie just sat there staring at the frail girl in her arms wondering what had happened in the few minutes she had been out of action.

"I didn't mean to Tess. Come here please. I won't hurt you. Please trust Tess. Come on. Yes that's right come on. I just want to help you, please I won't hurt you." as Will spoke comforting nonsense in a low, gentle voice Tessa slowly began to relax and stop crying so hard. She let Will pull her onto his lap and against his chest while she cried. She felt Sophie stand up and heard her and Jem muttered to each other as they walked out of the room. When they were gone Will didn't say anything except for the occasional 'I'm sorry.' She knew he was. She had seen that he would never hurt her on purpose, had read it in his soul. Even that knowledge didn't help the fact that she no longer felt so safe in his presence. Tessa wanted her sense of security back and knew the only way she would get it would be to slowly let Will in past her walls.

Will was relieved when Jem and Sophie left. He was even more relieved when Tessa slowly began to stop crying. After he guessed about 15 minutes, Tessa wiped her eyes off and stood up. Will looked at her a minute before standing up too.

"Come on let's go find the others." Will said quietly and pulled her after himself gently. He put the last few hours in the past, not wanting it to ruin her day. Although it probably already had. They were heading back to the kitchen to look for Sophie and Jem when there was a loud knocking noise echoing through the old building. Will changed course and pulled Tessa with him to the door. There they met Sophie and Jem. Will nodded at them before releasing Tessa's hand and going to open the large Institute doors. Tessa took the opportunity to look around the entrance hall.

The floors were polished marble with a one rug by each of the two staircases that led up to the second floor. The staircases were off to the sides of the room and the hall had lots of little passages and other hallways branching off to the sides. There was a huge chandelier hanging in between the two staircases. It illuminated the entryway clearly and smaller lanterns lined the walls all the way down to the parlor room at the end of the long hallway. The doors were huge wooden things reinforced with blessed iron and had probably a dozen locks on them. Tessa didn't know Will opened, but she was sure it was difficult. She couldn't have been more wrong, if you have shadowhunter blood, it swings open at the smallest touch. A tall young man stood at the door. The side of his head was covered in blood and he leaned heavily on a wooden staff he had. His clothes were torn and gray, obviously old and unclean. His hair was still obviously blond and his eyes were a light blue. His skin tan, but he didn't seem to have many muscles at all. But Tessa didn't doubt that he was strong by the way he carried himself even injured and ragged as he was.

"I'm Nate." The man rasped out, pausing to cough, "You must help me for I am Theresa Gray's brother and I have searched many years for her." With that he looked straight at Tessa and said, "I have found you at last." He trailed off at the end looking slightly annoyed, and collapsed. Tessa rushed forwards, despite Will's warning to stay back. She remembered this boy, very faintly, but she remembered him all the same. He had held her and defended her. Had spoke against sending her away. He had suffered a beating for standing up for her, but he had borne it silently. She turned to Will a pleading look in her eyes.

"Please you must help him. I remember him. Please you must." Tessa was near tears.

"Of course we will." Jem assured her and went over to pick up Nate. Sophie helped him while Will just stood there, dumbfounded. He trailed behind them as they made their way to the infirmary. When they got there Will finally seemed to find his voice.

"We can't just help a stranger Jem." He whined.

"We helped Tessa." Jem pointed out cleaning off the side of Nate's face.

"She's different." Will was stubborn, but Jem wasn't having any of it.

"Nate's her brother."

"Fine, but after you clean his cut, wake him up and kick him out we don't need him here."

"Someone's jealous." Jem teased.

"Say what?! I am not jealous." Will declared vehemently, but his pink ears betrayed him.

"Yes you are. Your ears are telling us that." Jem sounded amused.

"I know you two are enjoying your argument, but take it out of the infirmary please. We actually have a patient in here." Sophie butted in. The boys looked momentarily surprised before going outside the infirmary to continue arguing. Sophie sat down next to Nate, but Tessa who was tired and didn't want to sleep alone, slipped in next to Nate on the bed and curled up for a nap.

**A/N: So Nate has shown up! What's going to happen? who knows! Anyway there was a bit of trouble in paradise, what's going to happen because of it? It's moving a bit fast right now, but the next chapter will be more of the characters getting to know each other rather than action. Sorry again about the late update.**


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: So I realize that it's been forever since I updated. I was lacking time and ideas. Now I'm ready to write again, but I can't promise regular updates. Without ado the story (all rights to cassie).**

**Chapter 5: Night terrors**

Tessa was sleeping next to her long, lost brother Nate. He was not her biological brother. Her parents had adopted him about a year before her father took her to the orphanage. Despite their short time together, Nate and Tessa had grown extremely close. Now nearly 14 years later, they had reunited in the most unlikely of places.

"I don't trust him." Will complained. He and Jem were standing in the hallway waiting for the siblings to wake up.

"You're just jealous that Tessa's sleeping next to him instead of." Jem teased.

"No I'm not !" Will defended. But he was, he was green with envy that Tessa's tiny, warm, perfect body was pressed up against a stranger's body. No! He couldn't think that, he had to get Tessa away from him as quickly as possible. Her brother coming provided the perfect chance. He could get Nate to leave with Tessa and go back to where ever the siblings came from. This was the perfect opportunity, now how to carry his plan out…

Tessa was sleeping deeply. She was lost in the wonderland of dreams. A beautiful perfect world where nothing was wrong; one where she didn't have to worry about strange powers or people. One where she could be normal.

_They were in a beautiful field filled with flowers. Tessa was healthy again, not skinny but filled out nicely. She was in a dress the exact color of Will's eyes with a hat on her head secured by a white ribbon. Will stood one side of her and Jem on the other. Nate and Sophie were sitting on a blanket in front of them._

"_Come you two and eat before the food gets spoiled." Sophie chided them._

"_I know, but..." Will started sighing._

"_She's gone." Jem finished for him. They both sighed again and looked at each other sadly. _

"_Who's gone?" Tessa asked curiously._

"_Well it doesn't matter, we came out here to enjoy ourselves. You know she'd be sad if you guys were just moping." Sophie reasoned pulling sandwiches out of a wicker picnic basket._

"_I'm sure she isn't really gone anyways." Nate got out around a mouthful. "If I know one thing about her, it's that she's a survivor. She's not just going to leave behind the two people she loves most when it's possible for her to come back."_

"_You're right!" Will decided snatching up a sandwich and taking a huge bite out of it. Tessa, who was still standing decided to sit in between Jem and Will. She faced out not really listening to the conversation behind her, instead weaving a flower crown. The flowers were violet, silver, brown, white, and yellow. Odd colors that some how looked splendid together. She turned around when she finished five crowns. The four others were just sitting in silence now. Tessa decided that the flower crowns would help._

"_Here you go!" Tessa giggled as she set one of the crowns on Will's head. It had a cluster of the violets in the front with the white flowers, than silver ones, then yellow, and finally brown flowers completing the circle in the back. It fit him perfectly. Will however didn't even bat an eyelash and no one else said anything. Tessa danced around the circle giggling and acting like a child, but she didn't care she was happy. Jem's crown was the same as Will's but the silver and violet flowers were switched. Sophie's crown had the brown flowers in the front, then white, silver, violet, and yellow. Nate's crown had yellow, then white, then brown, then silver, then violet. Sophie finally looked at Will and gasped._

"_Will, you have a flower crown on your head!" She told him in shock._

"_I what? That isn't funny Sophie." Will said still staring off into the distance. _

"_I'm serious Will. Feel your head." Will sighed and turned around to face Sophie when his face went white._

"_You too." he whispered. _

"_What?" Sophie looked at him then she looked at Nate and Jem. "I think we all do." She realized._

"_Of course sillies!" Tessa giggled. "I gave them to you." Each member of the group reached up and pulled the flower off of his or her head. They examined the crowns in wonder._

"_Hey Will this violet is the exact color of your eyes." Jem said in astonishment._

"_And this silver is the color of your hair and eyes." Will told him._

"_The brown is the same color as Sophie's hair." Nate offered._

"_The yellow one is like your hair." Sophie informed him tartly._

"_I think that these crowns represent us in some way." Jem said examining his crown. "Maybe our relations to one another or the way we feel about each other?" He guessed.  
_"_That makes sense except for the white one." Will started._

"_Ave atque vale." Sophie whispered, tears shining in her eyes._

"_What?" Will asked her. "I didn't quite catch that."_

"_Ave atque vale." Sophie repeated louder. Jem immediately understood her.  
_"_No way." he whispered, disbelievingly._

"_I think so." Sophie nodded._

"_What? What do you think?" Will was thoroughly confused._

"_I'm as lost as Will, can you explain please?" Nate asked politely._

"_Will, what was the last thing she said and what was she wearing?" Jem asked softly._

"_White dress, white coat, white shoes, white stocking, white hat with flowers on it. She told me 'Ave atque vale William Owen Herondale' and disappeared." Will said a single tear rolling down his face. "That was the last time I ever saw her." He cried a little more in realization. "Oh my god. Tessa made these." He gasped out and immediately began to cry harder._

_I left him? Tessa thought to herself as she watched the scene before her. Does that mean that they cannot see me? Did I die? What happened? The questions were overflowing, but first she had to comfort Will. He shouldn't be crying, he was too good to be crying. Tessa picked up her skirts and hurried over to Will. She sat down next to him and gently pulled him into her arms. She hugged him and surprisingly Will hugged her back. He hadn't seemed to notice quite what was going on around him._

"_Will?" Jem asked cautiously. "What are you doing?"_

"_What do you mean?" Will asked burying his face into Tessa's neck._

"_You're hugging midair." Jem told him softly._

"_No I'm not. I'm definitely hugging something. There's someone here. It's probably Sophie." Will said closing his eyes tightly and hugging the person in his arms tighter._

"_I'm right here Will." Sophie said gently._

"_What?!" Will straightened immediately, but didn't let go of Tessa. "Then who was I hugging?" Will was confused._

"_Looks like air to me." Nate said. Tessa gaped at them. They couldn't see her. They really couldn't see her. This was the worst. The absolute worst. A tear began to slowly make its way down Tessa's pale face. Will looked back at her with confusion. Then he gasped and put a hand on her face.  
_"_Tess is that you?" He asked softly as his thumb traced circles on her cheek bone. Tessa nodded silently, more tears slipping out of her eyes. The first one just passing her nose and continuing down. "I was hugging Tessa." Will declared looking at the others and saw their confused expressions. "Can you not see her?" Will asked._

"_Nope. I think you've finally cracked." Nate said, "There's nothing there." _

"_Come here." Will demanded. Nate looked unsure, but when Will glared at him he raised up his hands in surrender and made his way over. Will grabbed one of Nate's hands and one of Tessa's hands and made them hold hands. Suddenly Nate could see Tessa._

"_My gosh. It really is Tessie." Nate murmured._

"_Is she really there?" Jem asked hesitantly coming up behind Will with Sophie hot on his heels. _

"_Yes give me your hand." Will commanded and guided Jem's hand to Tessa's shoulder. Jem gasped as the girl came into view and he sat down next to her crying.  
_"_You came back." He muttered to himself through his tears. Sophie came up and with no help from Will put her hand on Tessa's head._

"_You've been gone for far too long." Sophie said, tears slipping down her face. Then Tessa's first tear hit the ground. Nobody noticed, they were all too busy hugging Tessa and crying._

"_I really left?" Tessa finally asked.  
_"_What do you mean did you really leave?" Nate asked with a slight bit of venom in his voice._

"_I'm sorry." Tessa said instinctively leaning into Will. "I don't remember anything." She said quietly._

"_Nothing?!" Will asked his voice rising slightly in panic._

"_Well nothing beyond Nate coming." Tessa said, thinking._

"_Okay." Jem said. "We'll tell you then and then you can come back and you don't have to leave ever again. Sound good?" Tessa nodded._

"_Alright then. I'll start." Jem took a deep breath and opened his mouth to start the tale when a copper blade appeared in his mouth. Jem's eyes bulged in shock then widened in pain. He choked and fell forwards, right onto Tessa, whose dress was now white stained with Jem's blood. Everyone was frozen for a moment and the Tessa screamed._

"_JEM!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, her fury unleashed. Jem was precious to her and now she was going to lose him. Well at least she would get his revenge. Her power created a wind, her eyes turned a brilliant rainbow when suddenly everyone else in the group collapsed. She whirled in shock, her power suddenly gone. Nate, Sophie, Will, and Jem. All stabbed. All bleeding. On her. Blood. Too much. Blood was everywhere. All she could do was scream._

Jem stood outside the infirmary waiting for Will to come back. They were taking turns guarding the infirmary until Tessa woke up. It had been 6 hours. Jem sighed plopping down on the ground to wait for Will.

Will had just come into view when he heard it, a scream of raw pain and terror. He jolted up right and flung open the door. He saw Tessa on the bed curled up in a tiny ball and saw Nate on the floor sitting up dazed, rubbing his head. He'd probably fallen off the bed in shock. Suddenly Tessa screamed again. The scream full of pain and terror. Full of fear and sadness. Full of grief and guilt. Not even a second later Will came skidding into the room. He took in the scene in an instant and headed for Tessa. He picked up a glass of water on his way by and approached Tessa carefully. He turn tried shaking the girl, only to get another scream. Will cringed at the volume and then upended the glass of water on the girl. She sat up suddenly, screaming her head off. Then her eyes opened and she when she saw Will her eyes filled with relief. She tackled him in a hug, then went running for Jem and also hugged him. Finally she hugged Nate and clung to him whispering "Thank god it was just a dream." over and over. Will and Jem came over and sat next to the brother and sister.

"What happened Tessa?" Jem asked softly, worried for the fragile girl.

"A bad dream." Tessa said her face buried in Nate's shirt and then after a moment she shook her head. "No more like a night terror." She shuddered.

"Do you want to tell us?" Will asked.  
"Sure." Tessa shuddered then turned around in Nate's lap. "But can you get me a glass of water?" She asked shyly. Will nodded and got her a glass of water. Tessa didn't even bother to change out of her now wet clothes before she started telling them about her dream.

"I was in an ankle length dress the color of Will's eyes.." She started.

**A/N: Sorry about the short chapter. I guess it's more of a filler. But I really needed to update. Also the dream is relevant later on so remember it! **

**Until next time!  
Artistofthemind.**


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